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Friday, September 16, 2016

"Schönborn warns of Islamic conquest of Europe" (ORF), "Schönborn, Many Muslims want a conquest of Europe '" (OE24). The headlines can herald a departure from the current suspect "Welcoming Path". But is that true really?

Active advocate of an unconditional border opening

Vienna archbishop, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, was thought to be one of the most active advocates of an unconditional border opening for mass immigration. A process which goes forward under the heading of "Refugee Aid", and since last year, has dominated the political debate not only in Austria.

Church institutions are among the main service providers that organize the reception of refugees professionally on behalf of the state. However, a majority of them are economic migrants, as government politicians now admit. The proportion of genuine refugees under the international conventions is given, depending on the estimate, as 20-33 percent. For each genuine refugee therefore up to four economic migrants has entered the country.

However, Cardinal Schönborn refused, together with Caritas and much of the political elite, to makeany differentiation. A refusal which corresponds to the attitude of the immigration party par excellence, the Greens, which was acquired in 2015 for still unknown reasons by both Austrian government parties, the Social Democratic SPÖ and the Christian Democratic People's Party. The bold slogan displayed, Refugee Welcome comes from the vocabulary of the extreme left.

Voting advice for candidates of the immigration parties par excellence

Last May, Cardinal Schönborn, in the context of an election campaign dominated by the subjects of mass immigration and Islamization, made a bizarre recommendation for voting- which he did not want to be understood as such - for the Federal presidential candidate of the Greens, Alexander Van der Bellen. The president of the Austrian Bishops' Conference caused a stir with the statement:

"Nobody has the truth, also not yourself."

In Catholic circles in Vienna, the statement unusual for a Catholic bishop, was evaluated as a benevolent signal to the Masons. Van der Bellen was accepted by a Masonic Lodge in Innsbruck in 1975. In contrast, his opponent, Norbert Hofer, of the nationalist conservative Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) belongs to the Order of St. George, which seems to impress the Cardinal far less.

Salzburg Auxiliary Bishop Andreas Laun had previously responded to voting recommendations of Catholic organizations for Van der Bellen after which the diocesan bishops, including the Archbishop of Vienna, were enveloped in silence:

"That Christians are either thinking about or, even worse, are already brainwashed so that they are ready, rather are prepared to choose a declared enemy of God and of the Church - and want also to to seduce others into their error - shows in what state certain circles in the church are found. "

The election was annulled by the Constitutional Court because of irregularities and must be repeated in the autumn. Whether Schönborn repeats or not his election manifesto, which no one was supposed to, repeated or not, should be the test of truth for his statements made last Sunday and the credibility of the Church in Austria.

Consistently wrongly analysed mass immigration

In December 2015 Schönborn had sharply criticized the "refugee policies" of the Austrian neighboring countries, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland in the Slovak weekly magazine, Týždeň. He accused the governments of these countries of being "blinded by a vicious propaganda". He is "ashamed" that the rejection of a mass immigration by these countries is supported "in so-called Christian arguments" such s the "fear of Islamisation". A "rational calculation" shows that Europe "needs millions of immigrants to maintain our lifestyle." Schönborn revealingly honestly indicated that in reality there are very different motivations behind the "refugee crisis".

Still on 13 March 13 Schönborn reiterated in the ORF television programme, Pressestunde (Press Hour) that the Austrian Church hierarchy "consistently has wrongly analyzed mass immigration" (see The ecclesiastical "refugee" delusion continues - Cardinal Schönborn's dangerous illusions and the decline of the church). The attitude of the church hierarchy was marked by "clandestine agreements, self-censorship, confused talk" and "siding with the powerful," says the Catholic theologian and pro-lifer, Wolfram Schrems.

But what does Cardinal Schönborn say now?

"Today 333 years ago Vienna was saved. Will there now be a third attempt at an Islamic conquest of Europe? Many Muslims think and wish that and say: This is Europe at the end. And I think that what Moses does today in the reading and what God the Merciful does with his younger son, we should ask for Europe today: Lord, give us another chance! Do not forget that we are your people just as Moses reminds him: It's YOUR people, YOU have led them out, YOU have sanctified them, it is YOUR people. "

The statement is less spectacular than some media stressed. And yet, from the mouth of the Vienna archbishop, it is somewhat spectacular to hear that he is convinced that "many Muslims think and wish" that there is a "third attempt of Islamic conquest of Europe". It was not a real "warning", such as claimed by ORF, however.

Where did the cardinal say it?

The statement came on September 11, at the end of his homily for this year's Feast of the Holy Name of Mary in Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral. The festival is an annual meeting, which was founded by the Franciscan Petrus Pavlicek in 1947 as the prayer campaign, the Rosary Crusade of Expiation.

Cardinal Schönborn is reputed to be adaptable to each audience. Is this true for his sermon last Sunday? Was it a realization after a process of reflection that led the Cardinal to think that "Europe is at the end", that Europe "is well on the way to forfeiting its Christian heritage"? Or was the Cardinal only paying lip service given a pious and "conservative" target audience?

The relativisation

When his unusual statements were found to be spreading fast on the Internet and were interpreted as a departure from the previous "Welcoming Path" in matters of immigration and asylum, the Cardinal promptly announced a correction. On Twitter, he was eager not to let a false impression arise:

"Do not understand my sermon as a call for repelling the refugees".

He also referred to the website of the Archdiocese of Vienna, on which the "the intention of the sermon was again clarified", as ORF reported. The archdiocese had published the sermon as a text and to be sure added a commentary to prevent any misunderstanding arising.

The blame is not with Islam, nor the Islamists, the cardinal let it be known. The "Christian heritage of Europe we (have) put in danger ourselves."

The commentary explains: "Islamism could indeed be the beneficiary [...]. But hope lies in the mercy of God "Then the comment is even clearer: "From the context, it is also clear that the Cardinal is not entering a defensive struggle to defend Christian values against Islam ".

In Sonntag, the weekly newspaper of the Archdiocese, Cardinal Schönborn gave the "following clarification":

"Europe's Christian heritage is at risk because we Europeans have squandered it. It is nothing to do with Islam or even the refugees. It is clear that many Islamists would like to take advantage of our weakness, but they are not responsible for our weakness. We Europeans ourselves are responsible. "

So nothing new in Vienna? "Nothing new," confirms a Viennese informant.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Tourists found closed doors this morning at the Cathedral of Sainte-Cécile and the Saint-Salvi church, two of the main places to visit in the historic heart of Albi. The diocese confirms the temporary closure of the two buildings. The order was given by the prefecture following the temporary occupation of the cathedral on Monday evening by Albanian Roma who have been camping in the city centre for several days. This is the first time that the Cathedral cannot be visited, causing surprise to tourists visiting the Episcopal city.

Monday, September 12, 2016

The Viennese Cardinal Christoph Schönborn warned last Sunday at a Mass for the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary that "Europe is well on the way to forfeiting its Christian heritage". "Will there be an Islamic conquest of Europe? Many Muslims want that and say: Europe is at the end," he said during the Mass in St. Stephen's Cathedral during a celebration for the Feast of the "Holy Name of Mary", which was introduced in gratitude for the liberation of Vienna from Ottomans 333 years ago. "God have mercy on Europe and with thy people, who are in danger of forfeiting our Christian heritage," Schoenborn said in his homily, according to the website of the Archdiocese of Vienna. This loss could be felt, "not only economically, but above all, in human and religious terms," preached the cardinal.

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Rainer Woelki, accuses the CSU of creating a split in society. With their demands for limits on refugees or a preference for immigrants from the Western Christian culture the party contributes to even greater polarization and is in the same business of the right-wing populists of the AFD. "I do not think much of parroting afterwards what others have thought about wrongly beforehard," Woelki told the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger".

The Cardinal celebrated the Corpus Christi Mass

this year on a model of a refugee boat

A preference for Christian refugees, as the CSU discussed at their executive meeting this weekend, would be "exactly the opposite of what we must be concerned about as Christians: creating spaces for encounter and to know each other".

"We now need clear, reliable rules for immigration in the future," said CSU leader Horst Seehofer.

Seehofer: "Without limitation, we will not make it"

The Archbishop called on the CSU to be loyal to the German constitution. "If the CSU accepts the basic law seriously, they cannot support an upper limit. This does not allow the right of asylum. And the right of asylum must remain as it is. "Therefore, according Woelki, "the nonsensical discussion of limits must stop. "

AfD does not deserve the label "Christian"

He warned the CSU also from assuming they could benefit from a policy and rhetoric of agitation. "Who wants what the CSU touted votes in the end equally for the AFD. They will have the last laugh."

In a joint reception of the Archdiocese and the Diocesan Council of Catholics, the laity representation in the archdiocese, Woelki considered the result of the state elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern a week ago with 21 percent of the vote for the AFD as "terrible" and as a "disturbing challenge". He disputed the label “Christian” for the right-wing populist party and the positions that they take.

"Christians do not discriminate according to origin, race or religion, but recognize in every human being the image of God." Whoever wants to defend the "Christian-Western tradition," should give space to the values of the Constitution and provide for the human dignity of each individual the Cardinal continued. He called for the social consensus to be respected, which the populists of right and left threatened to squander with their slogans. "The language is brutalized language. It is argued and lived at the cost of others.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

"According to the former head of the Vatican’s highest court, Cardinal Raymond Burke, Muslims and Christians do not worship the same God, since Allah is a “governor,” whereas Christianity was “founded on love.”

The modern belief that Islam and Christianity are fundamentally the same “is very much influenced by a relativism of a religious order,” the Cardinal said at a recent press conference.

“I hear people saying to me, well, we’re all worshipping the same God. We all believe in love. But I say stop a minute, and let’s examine carefully what Islam is, and what our Christian faith teaches us.”"

Honduran Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga considers that the air raids by the Allies in Syria are war crimes. The advisor of the Pope consultant has a good reason for this sharp judgement.

The Papal adviser and Honduran Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga considers that the air raids by the Allies in Syria are war crimes. The head of the council of cardinal advisers for Vatican Curia reform ("K9") criticized on Friday in Münster the military action against the fighters of the Islamic State (IS).

"Nobody has the right to kill and no one knows who meet the bombs," he said before students of The Episcopal Marian Academy in Münster.

The errors are very old

The archbishop of Tegucigalpa described the situation in Syria and northern Iraq as a "dilemma". The violence of the IS was unacceptable. There were however also errors on the part of the Western industrialized countries, which contributed to the "horrible situation".

"They have already been made a long time before this war," emphasised Mardiaga to the online magazine of the Diocese of Münster, citing arms sales, dealings with radical groups and an ignorance of the complex problems in the Middle East. "The West should have exported education, development and prospects there to protect people against radicalisation."

The student discussion held in English was the conclusion of a multi-day visit to the German-Honduran Society which had invited the Cardinal to North Rhine-Westphalia. The occasion was the opening of the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Honduras in Duisburg. (KNA)

The Honduran Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga views the election campaign in the US with much concern. He disagrees especially with a proposal of Donald Trump

The Papal adviser and Honduran Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga looks "with a lot of concern" on the United States and the election campaign. The world needed "great leadership", the head of the council of Cardinal advisers for reform of the Curia ( "K9") said on Wednesday evening to journalists in Duisburg. It appears that the candidates lack these qualities.

Maradiaga: The EU lacks vision

According Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa in Honduras, politicians such as Konrad Adenauer and Robert Schuman, who had built up the European Union with a visionary idea, are lacking. Instead, the economy and their interests dominate.

The Cardinal was decisively against the building of a wall to defend against illegal migrants proposed by US presidential candidate Donald Trump, on the border of the United States to Mexico. "The world needs bridges and not walls," he said, referring to Pope Francis.

Church committed to peace

Maradiaga described the current international situation as "very complicated". More dialogue and cooperation were necessary. "We will never make peace with confrontation" the cardinal said. When asked about the contribution of the Church, he stressed that they could do a lot, for example in the Middle East. Thus the Christian Patriarchs are dedicated to helping refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. (KNA)

"Stormed and humiliated." - The rebuilding of the John Paul II Institute by Francis and the "sexual revolution in the Vatican"

The theologian Andrea Grillo, staunch Bergoglianist, has revealed in a commentary "the plan behind the incredible appointments" (Il Timone) at the head of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, which were made on Wednesday by Pope Francis.

The reshuffles mean a realignment of the international centre, established by Pope John Paul II which was for 25 years a guardian and supporter "of the authentic Magisterium of the Church" in the area of marriage and family. The intervention of Pope Francis is the application of the “hermeneutics of rupture” of Vatican II alleged by Pope Benedict to that institution and to moral theology in general, and, in particular, the overcoming of the doctrinal heritage of sexuality, life and family of Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II", according to the Catholic monthly magazine, Il Timone.

"Familiaris Consortio" was yesterday, today is "Amoris Laetitia"

The serious personal intervention suggests that not only the Post-Synodal Exhortation Familiaris Consortio of Pope John Paul II but also the prophetic encyclical Humanae Vitae of Pope Paul VI are to be affected.

Pierangelo Sequeri was appointed as the new director and Curial Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia made the new Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Institute. Outstanding representatives of Catholic marriage and family teaching such as Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, Cardinal Angelo Scola and Msgr. Livio Melina, who have led the Institute in succession since its founding, are now followed by Sequeri. "The transition is large, strong and surprising, especially because it is carried out in parallel with some general developments in recent years," said Grillo.

The John Paul II Institute was founded in 1981, the same year in which Familiaris Consortio was published and is directly related to this. It was founded at the request of the then-Pope to study and deepen the theology and philosophy of marriage and the family, which was visible as a priority of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II.

The headquarters is located at the Lateran University in Rome. Additional offices are located in the USA, Benin, Brazil, India, Mexico, Spain and Australia.

In these 35 years, thousands of theologians, bishops, priests, professors and pastors were formed in the area of "theology and anthropology of marriage". The approach according to Grillo has been very "classic", and quickly acquired a strong apologetic profile and experienced after the encyclical Veritatis Splendor of 1994, the "gradual accentuation of moral maximalism, which strongly affected the work of the past 20 years."

Conflicting positions between Pope Francis and the Pontifical Institute

What has happened in the past three years since the end of the pontificate of Benedict XVI was decisive for the most recent development. The tones between “Church, which goes out" desired by Pope Francis and the Institute were always rough.

The culmination of the tensions began with the preparation of the Synod of Bishops on the Family when the conviction prevailed at the Institute that Pope Francis shared the theses of Cardinal Kasper and was beginning to make a change in the course of Catholic moral teaching.

Professors of the first rank of the institute positioned themselves openly against Kasper "openings". The result was that Pope Francis appointed no representative of the Institute as synod member or as observer. The "in-house" experts most qualified in matters relating to marriage and the family were excluded from the Synod. The marginalization by the Pope reinforced the already existing fears. Even outside observers who could not avoid seeing the overlooking of the Institute by Francis, saw this as a decision of the Pope in the direction of favouring the Kasper theses.

Grillo must dig deep into his rhetorical tricks to find a "small scandal", which should serve as a noose for the previous director. The priest and moral theologian, Livio Melina, since 2006 at the head of the Institute, wrote a critique of the papal document shortly before the official presentation of the post-synodal letter Amoris Laetitia by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn and distributed it to the students of the Institute. Following the publication of post-synodal letter on April 8, several courses followed that critically dealt with the controversial Exhortation. The Institute was represented with positions in open contradiction to the papal "openings". An attitude that was certainly not received well at the highest level.

"Too maximalist"

Monsignor Melina who did his doctorate at the Gregorian University in Cardinal Caffarra and worked for several years under the direction of Cardinal Ratzinger at the CDF before he was appointed to the Pontifical John Paul II Institute, Is one of the world's most important Catholic moral theologians and bioethicists. His positions appear to be no longer in demand in the Vatican.

Bergoglianists such as Grillo already turned up their nose to the Institute in the past two years because it is "too maximalist" and regard Familiaris Consortio as " a Pillar of Heracles". To justify the papal intervention, Grillo now make the accusation that adhesion to Familiaris Consortio in terms of theology of marriage had taken "in recent months, an almost pathological form".

The defence of the sacrament of marriage and the Church's moral teaching was not only reviled by him as a "quasi-pathology" but also presented as an "aberration”. The appointment of Pierangelo Sequeri has " rightly put an end" to this. To quote Grillo: "After a phase of 35 years, which began with Familiaris Consortio, a new phrase opens symbolically a few months after Amoris Laetitia. Not without continuity with the good that has been done, but not without a break with all limitations of this experience. "

The new director

The new director Pierangelo Sequeri comes from the clergy of the Archdiocese of Milan. Ordained in 1968, Sequeri is older than Melina who has been dismissed. The fundamental theologian Sequeri was primarily known as a musician, including through his cooperation with the music group Gen Verde of the Focolare Movement.

The Music of Father Sequeri- which has all the quality of his theology....

Since 2010, he has been part of the international Medjugorje inquiry commission set up by Benedict XVI and has been Rector of the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy since 2012. He has had previously nothing to do with the Pontifical John Paul II Institute.

Gen Verde in action

The line to be expected from the new director is evident from the anthology "Family and Church" (Famiglia e Chiesa, LEV, 2015). The new Grand Chancellor, Archbishop Curia Vincenzo Paglia, in his capacity of President of the Pontifical Family Council undertook in Spring 2015 three seminars on the topic of the Synod. The speakers were in the narrow and broad sense invariably Kasperians. Their presentations supported the "openings" in view of the crucial Synod of Bishops in October 2015 and were published as a collection by the Vatican Press. The defenders of the Church's moral teaching, whether Cardinals or Synod members, had to seek publishers for their publications themselves.

The contribution of Sequeris includes "a small, large program, for at least the next 20 years of the Institute," said Grillo with pleasure. "It has changed course, left the harbour, and is sailing on the open sea. The captain knows the course and is not afraid. Not only the ecclesiastical but also the secular family culture will benefit which is perhaps as necessary. Even to speak to this culture has suddenly become possible again." With these words Grillo celebrates the papal attack which Francis made with a stroke of a pen on a "fortress of the sacrament of marriage and moral teaching "(Cardinal Caffarra), which had stood for 35 years.

Il Timone says that Pope Francis "stormed and humiliated" the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in order to enforce "the sexual revolution in the Vatican." The real "revolution" of Pope Francis is done by appointment.

Thursday, September 08, 2016

What is true in Spain, is also possible in Italy. A priest of the Archdiocese of Palermo, where Pope Francis recently appointed a "Bergoglianist" as archbishop, has "blessed" a lesbian couple. "I hope that the church will one day bless homosexual relationships," said the priest.

The Sicilian case is reminiscent of that of Castellón in Spain, where a priest “blessed” a lesbian couple in the Church. The priest then denied the blessing: He had "only" blessed the "love". The two lesbians had however sent out a "wedding invitation".

The former Jesuit church of Palermo, which is dedicated to St. Francis Xavier, has long been committed to the acceptance of homosexuality.

Pastor Cosimo Scordato called last Sunday before the start of the Mass the two lesbians to the altar, to announce their upcoming civil "marriage". The Italian parliament decided last February, referring to a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, the legalization of marriage-like legal arrangement for homosexual liaisons.

Don Scordato congratulated the lesbian couple on their decision and blessed it in the church. He called on the parish "to impartially receive the two lesbians and to pray for the couple".

The incident received attention not only in leftist media all over Italy attention but was also part of a documentary about and in support of "same-sex marriage" in Italy.

The two women, Elisabetta Cina (49) and Serenella Fiasconaro (46) are not practicing Catholics. But both are active in the homosexual scene and call for the recognition of homosexuality in politics and society. Both already have appeared in public in T-shirts with provocative logos.

Critics accuse the pair and Don Scordato of committing a subversive act with the aim of overthrowing the doctrine of the Catholic Church on homosexuality.

"The two women one day came to me and asked me to bless their wedding rings. The Church does not allow the sacrament of marriage to homosexual couples. I have invited them to come to the Mass to introduce themselves to the parish, because the church has to accept all, "said Don Scordato last Sunday before calling the lesbian couple to come to him at the altar. Then he called on the faithful, "to great the two people and their love with a round of applause."

A prompt which a majority of those present responded to docilely. "Don Scordato was fantastic," said the two lesbians. "His naturalness surprised us."

"My hope is that the Church will accept one day to bless homosexual relationships," said Don Scordato. At the same time, he announced that he will introduce other homosexual couples in the same way and wants to bless them. "Things are changing – but slowly", said the rector of the church.

Don Scordato publicly criticised Benedict XVI as "homophobic" and thus harvested the applause of homosexual organizations, "The homosexuals have the right to love," the diocesan priest said, because "what matters is love.”

He has made his parish, which he took over in 1986, into a (left-wing) Social Centre. It is "politically independent", but "not apolitical", being "non-denominational" but "open to all". Don Scordato says that he himself has "fallen in love with liberation theology".

The journalist and author Isabelle de Gaulmyn has accused the Archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, of having been informed before 2007 on abuse cases in his diocese. In her book, "Histoire d'un silence" (History of silence) which appears on Thursday, Gaulmyn says that she had already informed Barbarin between 2004 and 2005 on the cases of abuse, according to various French media.

In an interview with the French newspaper "L'Obs" the journalist says that the church was guilty and should admit this. "And I do not wish to hurt the Church by saying that, but ask him [Barbarin] to remain faithful to his message the church," said Gaulmyn.

Gaulmyn who works as deputy editor of the French newspaper "La Croix", grew up in Lyon and was even a Girl Scout. She knows some victims of the abuse scandal personally.

In August, the French prosecution investigated the Lyons Cardinal Philippe Barbarin. There was no evidence of a crime, it said. Barbarin, Archbishop of Lyon and Primate of France was investigated for non-disclosure of sexual assault within his area of ​​responsibility. A key question on Barbarin's involvement in the abuse scandal is since when did the Primate knew about the abuse cases.

Wednesday, September 07, 2016

At 8 pm, the Swiss Guards closed the gates of the Pope's summer palace in Castel Gandolfo. Then they left their posts. So they demonstrated on 28 February 2013 that Benedict XVI was now Supreme Pontiff emeritus, a Pope retired. Benedict retired to a convent in the Vatican and vowed to continue to live like a monk and leave the field to the successor.

Benedict however cracks open the doors again this Friday. It is then a book of conversations that the journalist Peter Seewald has had with the Pope appears in Germany and many other countries. The result was a mixture of autobiography, last testament and written defence. Therein Joseph Ratzinger tries to explain himself and his pontificate to the world.

The fine balance awaits for each of his words

Now the resignation of a pope is a tricky thing, because the old pontiff could contradict the new one. The history is rich with antipopes and schisms. According Benedict has lived in a reserve style since that February evening. If he talks about the strengths and weaknesses of his pontificate, cliques, religious doubts and his successor Francis, it is a delicate matter. The fine balance awaits for each of his words.

Here, the book is easy in style and anecdotes. The reader learns that the young theology professor Ratzinger often played "Ludo”, was blackened as a heretic and like "carousing" during the Second Vatican Council in Trastevere. Other passages are significant. He tells how much his election as Pope burdened him. However, he did know precisely, as a former prefect of the CDF, the dark side of the Church. Paedophile priests, opaque finances and corruption were the "dirt" in the church which he wanted to eliminate. But they were persistent. "Of course I wanted to do more than I could." After all, he had sacked hundreds paedophile priests and smashed a homosexual old boy network in the Vatican. "Whether that has formed again, I do not know."

He underestimated the political significance of his Regensburg speech

Benedict openly acknowledges that he underestimated the political significance of his Regensburg speech. It was released worldwide in 2006 to violent protest from Muslims. In contrast, he blames staff for the affair of Holocaust denier Bishop Williamson, whose excommunication Benedict lifted in 2009. They gave him bad advice. Thereafter, a "huge propaganda campaign was unleashed against me".

The former Archbishop of Munich sharply judges the Catholic Church in Germany to the Court. He complains about "a well-established and highly paid Catholicism" along with "over dependence on unholy bureaucracy", a "theorization of faith" and a "lack of a living dynamism." Benedict sounds rather more gentle when he talks about Francis. His choice completely surprised him and initially unsettled him. But then the cordial dealings of his successor with people have made him happy. Francis emphasises different things, but there are no contradictions. Do you have to believe it? More clarification is probably not to be expected from Benedict. The title of the book is: "Recent Conversations".

Emeritus Benedict XVI, according to a media report, sees the development in the Catholic Church in Germany in an extremely critical light. There is a "surplus of unholy bureaucracy", the 89-year-old Joseph Ratzinger states in a new book according to the "Süddeutsche Zeitung (Thursday edition). He also attests that the Catholic Church in his home country “makes faith into a theoretical matter" and "lacks a vibrant dynamism ".

The "SZ" refers in the interview to the book "Final Discussions" with journalist Peter Seewald, which appears in Germany and other countries on Friday. The Pope who resigned in 2013 for reasons of age Pope also confirms rumours of a homosexual old boy network in the Vatican. Such had been there during his pontificate, and he had smashed it. "Whether it forms again, I do not know," Benedict added.

With regard to the scandals involving paedophile priests and corrupt machinations in the Vatican, Benedict said he had not succeeded to purify the church from "dirt", as he had wished for. However, he had dismissed hundreds of paedophile priests.

The International Prayer Apostleship supervised by the Jesuit Order has published the video of the Pope with prayer intentions for the month of September. It is the ninth video that has been released this year since the beginning of this initiative.

The intentions are:

The human person stands at the centre of society - by everyone working for the common good.

Awareness of mission for all Christians - strengthened by the meditation of the Gospel and the sacraments.

The video is entitled: "For a more humane society".

The first "video of the Pope" for the month of January 2016 was especially criticised because of its "syncretic" character. "Abstruse" statements of a Catholic priest personnel involved in the video and former spokesman of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires ensured further concern. The dogmatic theologian Klaus Obenauer wrote in his review: "The pope must decide: Nathan the Wise or Christ".

Tuesday, September 06, 2016

Vienna International Airport was targeted by hackers on Friday. A Turkish hacker collective has claimed responsibility for the cyber-attack.

A Turkish hacker collective has claimed responsibility for the attempted cyber-attack on Vienna Airport on Friday. The reasons for the attack are the poor political relations between Austria and Turkey, and an incident at the airport, "Kurier"stated on Tuesday afternoon from a statement which has emerged online. "The claim of responsibility is still under consideration," the Interior Ministry told the Austrian Press Association.

"We know of the statement," said a Ministry spokesperson. The investigation would "however still take place as a priority" and it would be too early to anticipate the results. Further details were therefore not disclosed.

The hackers announced according to the online report from "Kurier" further attacks. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution take the claim of responsibility seriously and are investigating. The attack was a denial of service attack (DoS), they stated in the Tuesday edition of the newspaper. For this servers are flooded with requests until they completely break down.

The security of the IT system at Vienna Airport was not overcome in the attack. According to the airport no damage has occurred.

Sunday, September 04, 2016

The lay movement "We are Church" has praised the Osnabrück Bishop Franz-Josef Bode (65) as a reformer. Bode has repeatedly demanded in no uncertain terms more influence for women and has spoken in favour of rethinking the role of priests in the Catholic Church, spokesman for the movement, Christian Weisner told "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" (Saturday edition). Bode celebrated this Sunday in Osnabrück Cathedral his 25th ordination anniversary. The chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Reinhard Marx (62) is expected to attend.

Marx told the newspaper that Bode had put in place crucial impulses for changes in the Catholic Church. The Archbishop of Munich and Freising expressed reservations however on the question of whether the Osnabrück Model, where women volunteers are integrated into the parochial leadership, could be a model for all of Germany. Each diocese must decide this for themselves, the cardinal said.

The Cologne Cardinal Rainer Woelki has praised German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised her statement coined a year ago, "We can do it".

"I am very grateful for this strong statement of Chancellor, who helped thousands of threatened refugees [Cathcon: in fact over a million] ound a safer place with us," he said on Sunday in Cologne to Domradio. Merkel made the statement, "even though she must have known the difficulties approaching with the reception and integration of refugees in Germany," said the Archbishop of Cologne.
"There were big problems and these will be continued", Woelki conceded. He cited the "ominous" New Year’s Eve in Cologne [Cathcon- when refugees went on a rampage in Cologne, targeting young women] and the Syrian refugee who detonated a bomb in the Bavarian Ansbach. "That's why I'm grateful to those who do, again and again, with all their strength whatever is possible for the refugees." They are working to ensure that there is less need and misery in this world, the cardinal said.

Three Turkish flags, two of them almost the height of a human being and a little German flag. A large crescent banner stands with the embroidered presidential star symbol behind Recep Tayyib Erdogan.

The other is behind Angela Merkel.

It is as if the Chancellor is a Turkish governor. The small German flag on the table beside the Chancellor looks as if it was placed there at the last minute. It was if she had not expected to be present.

The meeting between the Chancellor and the President of Turkey took place however in Hangzhou / China. On neutral ground, between equal NATO partners - theoretically. The appearance looked more as if it were an audience for Merkel to bow down and ask for forgiveness from the Sultan in Ankara.

Discussion between Merkel and Erdogan

The Chancellor is at the G20 Gipel in Hangzou. Behind closed doors, Brexit, Syria, the refugee crisis and climate change are discussed. Even before the summit began, Angela Merkel met the Turkish President Erdogan.

Perhaps the Federal Chancellery found it appropriate to accept this setting. Perhaps it was easier in that way, to say to Erdogan: With the EU visa freedom for Turkish travellers as early as October, there will be nothing that helps including no Turkish ultimatum. In return, Turkey has dismissed after the coup, many professors and judges, arrested many journalists, too often spoken of the reintroduction of the death penalty.

Perhaps it was easier with the trade off on the matter of the flags, to say to Erdogan : German MPs get back access to the NATO base of Incirlik, or we have to move our aircraft into the Greek part of Cyprus.

Erdogan decides on Merkel's fate

Perhaps it was in this way without any problem to tell him: If the Bundestag condemns the centenary of the Armenian genocide, this is indeed a big annoyance for Ankara.

But the same parliament will vote one day on the visa freedom for Turks, and this vote could go wrong if Turkey continues to hamper the visit of the German parliamentarians. The federal government has no jurisdiction over Parliament.

All this could have been said. But there is also the other side of the coin. If Erdogan the EU-Turkey Agreement terminates the common refugee policy, he can decide Angela Merkel's political fate.

The historic decision by Angela Merkel

A year ago, Merkel allowed entry to refugees stranded in Hungary. At this time, escalation was threatened. Thousands of people had been walking on the road to Germany.

That the promise of the influx of refugees from autumn 2015 will be not repeated, depends as far as the uniform European asylum policy is concerned on whether Ankara continues to keep the border closed. The Turkish flag of the same height as a human being behind Merkel is also a symbol of extortion.

Sometimes this is so in foreign policy. But there is also on the German side a red line of self-respect. Berlin is not a Turkish provincial capital. To demonstrate this is also Merkel's task, and that to determine is a matter of course that will hopefully Erdogan will understand.

Saturday, September 03, 2016

Turkish government circles are apparently satisfied with the recent opinion of the Federal Government on the Armenian resolution of the Bundestag. "We see matters generally more positively," said the spokesman for the Turkish embassy in Berlin, Refik Soğukoğlu, to the newspapers of the Funke media group.

Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) had indeed pointed out earlier, the federal government does not dissociate itself from the resolution of the beginning of June. At the same time, they made it clear that they do not feel legally bound by the resolution. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert added that without special reason such resolutions of the Bundestag are not "legally binding".

Embassy spokesman Soğukoğlu refers now in particular to two observations of the Government Spokesman. "We appreciate Seibert's statement that it is for the courts to decide what is genocide - and not the Parliament," he said. "In addition, we agree to Seibert's assessment that the federal government does not always have to have the same opinion as the Bundestag."

The Green Party foreign policy spokesman, Jürgen Trittin accused the federal government of being in a state of denial of reality in its policy towards Turkey. “Turkey is a difficult neighbour and both in the refugee crisis and the Syria conflict more part of the problem than part of the solution, he told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. "Wobbling from side to side does not help here."

The resolution of the Bundestag had classified the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians 100 years ago in the Ottoman Empire as genocide, since which the relationship between German and Turkish government has been difficult. The Turkish government has forbidden German parliamentarians to visit the airforce base at Incirlik after the Bundestag decision. Bundeswehr soldiers are stationed there.

Following recent developments, several members of the Bundestag have announced they want to visit the NATO base. The defence spokesman of the SPD faction, Rainer Arnold, told the Frankfurter Rundschau, the travel plans of the politicians involved in defence issues remain: "We want to fly to Turkey on 4 October." The federal government did not fulfil the wishes of Turkey, added Arnold. "But if that is now the bridge over which you can walk, it's all OK with me."

The history of the Armenian Genocide, while the German government plays politics. It is said that Hitler used the Genocide as prototype for his own organised mass murder. Genocide denial is a way of life in Turkey.

Friday, September 02, 2016

CDU general secretary Peter Tauber has rejected a media report on a distancing by the Federal Government from the Armenian resolution of the Bundestag. "There is no distancing from the resolution of the German Bundestag about the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire," writes Tauber on Facebook. "Because the resolution was and is right." As CDU general secretary as a member of parliament and as a historian he stands fully behind it. "The currently circulating news from Spiegel online is wrong," said Tauber. Turkey is an important partner on many issues. But just as a partner, one must bear it that you discuss such issues openly. "We have done that with our resolution in the Bundestag," says Tauber.

Similar sentiments were expressed by CDU parliamentary leader, Volker Kauder. He reported the Union Group Bureau to subscriber information that Merkel had stated it in an interview the morning, that they have even supported the resolution. They have emphasized that they do not distance themselves from it. Kauder reported that a representative of the Foreign Office had provided an interview for the Turkish page of the homepage of the Bundestag, where the character of a resolution was described. Such resolutions have no binding effect and are not law.

Irritation in all the groups

The previously reported imminent distancing of the Federal Government from the Bundestag Resolution of the Bundestag has led to irritation in Berlin - even within the Cabinet.
Deputy head of the CDU, Stephan Harbarth said: "The position of the Union Group remains unchanged." A member of the governing council designated a possible distancing by Chancellor Angela Merkel as "fatal". On the board of the Union faction it was said, a distancing would "completely the wrong signal" to the Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan.

Also SPD Vice Manuela Schwesig rejects a distancing of the Armenian resolution strictly. "I take a dim view," said the Federal Minister for Family Affairs. FDP chairman Christian Lindner warned the Federal Government "to #Armenien speculation must be a 'duck' Such a kowtow would be undignified for our country and disrespectful of Parliament."

Criticism also came from the Greens and the Left. "It would be an indictment of the political culture and a slap to the victims" tweeted the Green Party Chairman Peter Simone. "Now we crawl up the backside of the lunatics from the Bosporus ", the Left MP Klaus Ernst also wrote on Twitter.

Merkel did not take part in the vote in the Bundestag, but voted in the previous indicative vote in the CDU fraction with the deputies supporting the resolution. A government spokeswoman had specifically noted that Merkel had supported the resolution. Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) and Foreign Minister Steinmeier did not participate in the vote.

In early June, Parliament had called, at the request of Union, SPD and the Greens, the expulsion of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as genocide. The Turkish government sharply condemned the resolution. It calls on the federal government to distance themselves and this has been associated with the currently denied visit by German parliamentarians to the German soldiers on the NATO base at Incirlik. Erdogan has not only stated his disapproval of a vote in the Bundestag, but has also attacked MPs personally, mainly those of Turkish extraction.

The Federal Government in Germany is planning a political gesture towards the Turkish government so that German parliamentarians may once again visit the German army soldiers stationed at Incirlik. According to information given to SPIEGEL, the Foreign Ministry and the Chancellery have agreed that the government spokesman, Steffen Seibert will appear at a press conference and distance himself on behalf of the Government from the Armenian resolution of the Bundestag.

On June 2, the Bundestag classified the 1915 committed by the then Ottoman government against the Armenian massacres as genocide.

Ankara then forbade German MPs from visiting the Incirlik airbase in Eastern Turkey. From there, the international coalition is flying their missions against the terrorist organization "Islamic State" (IS), including reconnaissance by the Tornados of the German armed forces.

In recent weeks the State Secretary in the German Foreign Office, Martin Ederer and the Head of the Political Department at the Foreign Ministry in Ankara, Andreas Michaelis, attempted to resolve the dispute. They were thereby clearly given to understand that the Turkish government demanded a public distancing from the genocide resolution of the Bundestag

Bundestag resolution has no binding effect

Berlin now meets with this requirement. Government spokesman Seibert will announce therefore that the resolution of the Bundestag will have no binding effect on the German government. It is , according to the tone, a political declaration of the Bundestag without any legal significance.

The decision was preceded by talks on the question of who should make the declaration from the Federal Government. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier did not want to take on this role, a personal appearance by Chancellor Merkel was not an option because it would have been seen as kowtowing to Erdogan. At the end, it was agreed that government spokesman Seibert would appear before the press.

In substance, the planned appearance of Seibert is not a change of course. Behind the scenes, Merkel as well as Steinmeier had always stressed that they considered the resolution of the Bundestag not to be a good idea. Steinmeier has always avoided designating the former misdeeds of the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

The Turkish government has made it clear in internal discussions that they would be satisfied with such a gesture. This would open the way for the visit of the representatives of the Defence Committee of the Bundestag to the German soldiers in Incirlik.

SPD parliamentary leader Thomas Oppermann had given Ankara an "ultimatum" of early October. Otherwise, could the mandate for the foreign assignment not be extended. After SPIEGEL information the Defence Department had already examined plans for a relocation of the Tornado aircraft to another location in the Middle East

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Cologne - A seven-metre long refugee boat is to be sited in the middle of Cologne as a memorial. The Archdiocese of Cologne has purchased the wooden former fishing boat that was seized by the Maltese army several years ago in a rescue operation. In cooperation with the charity Moas, it will brought to the cathedral city and is expected here next week, the archdiocese said on Friday. Cardinal Rainer Woelki wants to celebrate the Corpus Christi Mass on the boat on 26 May in Cologne's Roncalliplatz . After that it will be used in the Archdiocese for events. The ship type was often used by Libyan smugglers for transport to Italy.

The boat is to remember the thousands of deaths in the Mediterranean and the suffering of the refugees. According to the Archdiocese, Cardinal Woelki wants to point out that the fundamental problems have not been resolved, even if the number of refugees currently is falling back in Germany. The setting up of the boat will be linked to the 23,000 Chimes Event in which 230 churches a year ago recalled the 23,000 refugees who have arrived since 2000 in the Mediterranean. Since these bells were rung more than 3,327 people have died on the journey in unsafe boats on the Mediterranean Sea, reported the Archdiocese with reference to the refugee agency UNHCR.

Tuesday, May 03, 2016

"The religious order founded by St. Katharine Drexel has decided to sell the 44-acre Bensalem estate housing its mother house and the shrine with the saint's tomb.

Facing the plight of other orders with declining numbers and aging membership, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament also announced Tuesday it would sell more than 2,200 acres in Virginia, where two schools for black students founded by St. Katharine had been located.

"The properties are too large for our current and future needs, and for our financial resources," Sister Donna Breslin, the order's president, said in a telephone interview. She said the decision to sell was made "after prayer, study and reflection."

The motherhouse in Bensalem holds the tomb for St. Katharine, who established the religious order in 1891, died in 1955 and was canonized in 2000."

Saturday, April 09, 2016

The former "Minister for Ecumenism of the Pope," Cardinal Walter Kasper, has welcomed the Papal document, "Amoris laetitia". The document on marriage and family represents an open position and contributes to integration into the church. In Pope Francis, Kasper sees a ray of hope for Europe.

Emeritus Cardinal Walter Kasper acknowledged the Pope's message to marriage and the family as a "remarkable document". "Amoris laetitia" draws a very realistic picture of family with firm foundations and not an abstract ideal, he told the Catholic News Agency. The Pope expresses himself in a very biblical and pastoral manner, but not in a didactic way according to Kasper. The letter will give important information on the pastoral care and support of marriage in the German church. "Since we are partly still a developing country," the former president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity said.

According to Kasper the document represents an open position with which the bishops could well work in the Federal Republic. On dealing with divorced and remarried who are excluded, according to Catholic doctrine, from communion, the Cardinal said: "There are openings there, clearly." The Pope deals with the integration of these people into the life of the parish.

The Pope's letter was presented on Friday at the Vatican summarizing the deliberations of the World Synod of Bishops on Marriage and Family in 2014 and 2015. Francis calls in for more respect by the Catholic Church for the conscience of the individual in moral issues. In addition, a careful examination of the case and a balancing of interests is always necessary. At the same time Francis strengthens the role of local churches and individual bishops, to whom he concedes more autonomy and room for interpretation in the application of the Church's teaching.

Pope Francis as a beacon of hope for Europe

Kasper sees Pope Francis a beacon of hope for Europe. The continent in a state of crisis does not need new barbed wire fences, but a vision and a voice that could rekindle the fire of the European idea, he said. Pope Francis is one of the few such voices, "perhaps the only". According to Kasper, the Pope is aware of his responsibility for Europe and the continent. Therefore, he has, contrary to his dislike of awards, this year’s Charlemagne Prize. At the awards ceremony on May 6 in Rome, words are expected from the Pope both of encouragement as well as admonition.

Kasper rejected the criticism that Francis as a Latin American should get the prize who in contrast to his predecessors had little to do with the process of European integration. "Quite the reverse is true," the cardinal stressed. "From the outside, from the periphery, one sees things often more clearly and better." The experiences of Jorge Mario Bergoglio from the megacity of Buenos Aires thus plays a big role in which he had experienced the negative effects of globalization, such as poverty and misery.
Kasper made his statement in the Coronation Hall of Aachen Town Hall. The presentation of the former "Minister for Ecumenism of the Pope" is part of the program for the Charlemagne Prize with around 40 events.

Even in individual cases, no change of the teachings.
Berlin (kath.net/ KNA)

After the publication of the letter of Pope Francis on marriage and the family, German Cardinal Walter Brandmüller is warning against dilution of the Church's teaching. Misinterpretation of the letter could undermine the credibility of the Church's proclamation, the 87-year-old told the "Bild" newspaper on Saturday.

Those live in an "invalid second marriage" could not attain by means of a "salami tactics" in the end the admission to the sacraments, according to Brandmüller.

The Cardinal described derogations in individual cases as a dead end.

"What is fundamentally impossible for reasons of faith, is also in the individual case”. Brandmüller reaffirmed the Church's teaching on the indissolubility of marriage: "It is Catholic doctrine (dogma) that a validly concluded and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any power on earth including the Church. Jesus says: 'What God has joined together, man must not separate.' "

Who sets about other paths is leaving the path of Catholic doctrine, stated the former chief historian of Vatican. One could say that the adherence to the indissolubility of marriage "has become a unique feature of the Catholic Church". "So whoever denies the belief (dogma) in the indissolubility of marriage, has left the ground of Catholic doctrine."

Pope Francis summarizes in his letter "Amoris laetitia" the results of the consultations convened by him Synods of Bishops on Marriage and Family 2014 and 2015 together. He does not express himself directly on the controversial issue of admission of remarried divorcees to communion but calls for more respect for the conscience of the individual in moral issues. In addition, a careful examination of the case and a balancing of goods is required.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Christian refugees are mistreated in initial reception facilities in Germany by Muslims, such as incidents reported by the head of the Russian monastery of St. George in Götschendorf and a member of the Committee on Integration at the Federal Chancellery, Prior Daniil Irbits.

"Christian refugees from Syria, Eritrea and other countries are being mistreated and persecuted in initial reception facilities by their Muslim neighbours. This also applies to the Yazidi religious minority. Quite often abuse ends with injuries and life threats, " he says in a letter to the priest's chancellery minister and refugee coordinator Peter Altmaier.

Prior Daniil believes mainly former Muslims who have switched to Christianity are in danger. Christians from the Middle East have been so cruelly abused that they were ready to return home because the situation was not as bad there as in initial reception facilities in Germany.

The priest called on Altmaier to exert the necessary pressure so that the German law in initial reception facilities will be followed. Before this is implemented, it is necessary that Christians be housed separately from Muslims.